Chinese envoy prods South Korea to rethink pro-US pivot

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Uploaded: 2022-07-01T12:30:16.000Z
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Ambassador Xing Haiming says Seoul should act as a ‘lubricant’ between Beijing and Washington

The diplomat hits back against Nato’s new strategic blueprint, which calls China a ‘systemic challenge’

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol attends the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday. Photo: dpa

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 8:30pm, 1 Jul 2022

China’s ambassador to South Korea has urged Seoul to rethink its pivot away from China amid a diplomatic row over South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s participation in the Nato summit this week.

In a speech on Thursday, Xing Haiming also brushed aside growing criticism of China at the summit, including remarks by Yoon hinting that China is a threat to “universal values”.

Speaking at a seminar on Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of China’s ties with South Korea, Xing slammed Washington’s “comprehensive containment and suppression of China” and accused Nato of “unmistakable” offensive expansion, contradicting its claim that it is a defensive organisation.

China remains hypersensitive about Nato’s expansion, especially in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and has been vocal against Asia-Pacific nations – including South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand – attending the Madrid summit as observers.

Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused Nato of trying to “replicate the kind of bloc confrontation seen in Europe here in the Asia-Pacific” and warned the four nations not to “extend the military bloc to this region or stir up division and confrontation”.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo pushed back on Tuesday, saying China’s opposition to Yoon’s involvement in the Nato event was “not in line with mutual respect”.

06:06

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Xing also hit back against Nato’s new strategic blueprint, adopted on Wednesday, which labelled China a “systemic challenge” to the Western alliance’s “interests, security and values”.

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